


A Moment of Respite

by OpheliaGlorfindal



Series: For Those We Have Lost... [7]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Female Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Lemon, Midlander Hyur Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), NSFW, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Penis In Vagina Sex, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Romance, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Smut, Spoilers, Vaginal Fingering, almost confession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:40:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29930796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpheliaGlorfindal/pseuds/OpheliaGlorfindal
Summary: "I would've understood, you know.""What?"She raised her head and met his gaze, a vulnerable expression in her eyes."If y-you had found someone else here." Seraphina hugged herself tighter. "I would've understood. I mean five years is a long time to wait for someone and —""How can you say that?"Thancred looked aghast. Her words hurt his heart. The idea that he would forget her of all people was inconceivable. Not when she'd occupied his thoughts for longer than he could admit. Not when the hope of seeing her again had kept him from giving into despair completely.As if there could be anyone else.Thancred and Seraphina finally have a moment to talk after being reunited on the First. Smut and feels ensue.
Relationships: Urianger Augurelt & Thancred Waters, Warrior of Light/Thancred Waters
Series: For Those We Have Lost... [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1792330
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	A Moment of Respite

**Author's Note:**

> Parts of this hurt to write. 
> 
> NSFW because of lemons. Also, it's spoiler-y for those who haven't got to Shadowbringers yet...

Thancred’s eyes watched Seraphina’s back as she walked a few steps ahead of him. His body seemed to flush with heat despite the fact that his coat was sopping wet and his undershirt was clammy against his skin. He tried to tell himself that it had nothing to do with the way her scarlet jacket clung to the curves of her body and that it was most likely a lingering effect from his anxiety over the possibility that she had been drowned by the Fuath.

Which was ridiculous of course, given that she had the kojin’s blessing. 

He’d spent five long years, picturing their reunion, imagining all the ways they would make up for lost time and he would have to admit that he never expected it to go this way. For one thing, they hadn’t had a single moment of privacy since rescuing Minfillia and for another, she had been more than a little...wary of him since their arrival in Il Mehg. His scolding of his ward probably didn’t help things either, truth be told, and he couldn’t help but worry that he’d changed in ways Seraphina did not approve of.

“Thou seems distracted,” Urianger remarked in a low tone. “Mayhaps, it is to do with our friend.”

Thancred’s back stiffened.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he replied, keeping his expression as impassive as possible. He was not in the mood for teasing, not after their dealings with the fae.

“So thy flushed complexion has nothing to do with our companion’s rise from the lake? Hmmm, mayhaps I should give thee some medicine, in case thou is sickening for something.”

“I’m not sick,” he replied, watching as Seraphina joined in a particularly animated conversation with the twins. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him, her dark hair still alluringly damp. Thancred thought his heart might stop. Gods, he’d missed her smile. And her voice and her company and her touch...

“In which case, I can only conclude that thou is hoping for a more private reunion with her.” 

Thancred clenched his jaw. When had Urianger gotten so downright cheeky? More to the point, when had he got so easy to read? Perhaps he always had been when it came to Seraphina. It had, after all, been one of the many reasons they’d agreed to keep their relationship quiet to begin with.

“Hmm, could you check on Minfilia for me, please?” he asked, making a mental note to ‘rearrange’ the elezen’s bookshelves in retaliation later. “She seems to be shivering and I fear she’ll catch a cold again.”

“If it pleaseth thee.” Urianger actually _smirked_ at him before dropping back to check on the young girl for him. 

Thancred sighed. The sooner they got back to the Bookman’s Shelves the better. And not just because he could get out of his wet clothes and into warm dry ones. But also, so that they would all have a chance to breathe and rest. Something that he’d missed in the years he’d spent constantly travelling with Minfilia. 

And maybe, just maybe he’d get the chance to speak to Seraphina alone for the first time in five years.

*** 

Thancred sighed as he toweled his hair dry. It felt good to change out of his wet clothes and lounge in a warm bath, the warm water washed the dull ache in his muscles away. He was a little more relaxed; a feeling he hadn’t had the luxury of experiencing during his time on the road. But there was still the quiet dread in the back of his mind that never went away. The one that told him to be on his guard at all times, to keep people at arms length and always expect the worst.

A knock on the door distracted him from his thoughts. 

“It’s okay, Ryne,” He pulled a cotton shirt over his head as he walked towards the door. “Tell Urianger that I’ll be out in a minute —”

His breath caught as he opened the door to find himself staring at a familiar pair of bright blue eyes framed with dark hair. Seraphina was staring up at him carrying a tray of steaming hot drinks.

"You’re not Ryne,” he remarked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well observed,” she replied, giving him a crooked smile as she stepped into the room. “Alphinaud took it upon himself to make hot chocolate for everyone and Urianger insisted that I deliver yours personally.”

“Hmm, is that so?” Thancred closed the door behind them and watched as she placed the tray down on the desk.

His throat went dry as she turned to face him. A heavy silence fell between them as they stood there, staring at each other. Thancred’s chest tightened as he watched her play with the sleeves of the blue dress she had changed into, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. He swallowed. In the five years, he’d dreamt of this moment, he never imagined that he would be completely lost for words. But where could he even begin? Just having her standing in the same room as him felt surreal, as though he was standing in a lucid dream.

“So,” Seraphina licked her bottom lip quickly, “It’s been a while…”

“Mmmhmm. Five years.”

“Two moons for me,” she replied, pulling at the hem of her sleeves, “A lot has happened, to the both of us, it seems.”

“Indeed.” Thancred’s mind started running, wondering what she was getting at. Maybe he had changed too much for her. Maybe she had changed her mind after all. He watched her, her back was stiff and there was an apprehensive look in her eyes as she bit her lip. He held his breath as he waited for her to choose her words.

“You know, when the Crystal Exarch told me that you had taken up with a companion, I—I thought that perhaps you had —” she took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut, before opening them again. “But then he explained about Minfilia and —”

“It all made sense?” Thancred gave her a small smile as he leaned against the wall and folded his arms, trying to resist the urge to wrap them around her. “He’s not one for explaining things clearly, or fully for that matter.”

“Do you trust him?”

Thancred frowned as he considered her question. This was not where he had expected the conversation to go, if he was honest. 

“Not entirely,” he replied slowly, running a hand through his hair. “But I trust Urianger’s vision. Whatever the Exarch’s true motives are; we can’t allow the Rejoining to happen.” He suppressed a shiver that ran down his spine, whenever the subject of Urianger’s vision came up. The idea of their deaths, of her death chilled him to his very core.

Seraphina nodded. She glanced away and shuffled her feet before she took a deep breath and heaved her shoulders.

"I would've understood, you know."

"What?"

She raised her head and met his gaze, a vulnerable expression in her eyes. 

"If y-you had found someone else here." She hugged herself tighter. "I would've understood. I mean five years is a long time to wait for someone and —"

"How can you say that?"

He looked aghast. Her words hurt his heart. The idea that he would forget her of all people was ridiculous. Not when she'd occupied his thoughts for longer than he dared to admit. Not when the hope of seeing her again had kept him from giving into despair completely. 

As if there could be anyone else.

Seraphina shrank back as though she thought he was angry with her. 

“I’m sorry—that was— I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything,” she babbled, her eyes wide. “I was just—I mean—”

Thancred stood up and walked across the room towards her in a few short strides. Without thinking he cupped her face with both of his hands, forcing her to look at him. Her eyes widened in surprise, her lips were parted giving her a slightly comical expression. He tried to ignore the fact that his hands were trembling, that the brush of her skin sent levin bolts tingling up his arms. 

“Seraphina,” his voice was soft as he leant his forehead against hers, “my angel, I have thought of you every day for five years. No one else. _Only you._ ”

A bright red blush crept across her cheeks as she processed his words. Her blue eyes shone with tears and she swallowed.

“Thancred,” she sniffled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I-I’m sorry I was late — I wish —”

Thancred cut off her words with a kiss, slow, soft and gentle. He breathed in the citrus scent of her lemon soap and it made his head spin. He shuddered a little at the contact of her lips, his body trying to reacquaint itself with her touch after going without it for too long.

It was almost too much. It felt far too real to be believable. But there she was in his arms, one hand clutching the fabric of his shirt whilst the other carded through his hair. She was real, corporeal — not some image he’d conjured from his memories or desperate dreams; or some cruel trick of the fae.

Seraphina’s breath caught as he tightened his arm around her waist and deepened the kiss, relishing the warmth of her body and the way her quiet moans sparked a fire in his belly that he hadn’t felt in so long. At least not without an aching sense of loneliness that often followed such feelings. He let out a few shaky breathes as he felt her hands sliding beneath the neckline of his shirt. 

“Thancred,” she breathed as his fingers tugged at the clasps of her corset belt. “Thancred, wait —”

“What is it angel?” He rasped, shoving his knee between her legs and making her gasp and writhe against him.

“Are — are you sure you want to do this?” He felt her fingernails scrape his shoulders. “We can stop if you want to.”

He froze. She whimpered as he stepped away from her. Gods, had he gotten so carried away that he had missed any subtle signs that he was pushing himself on her and making her uncomfortable?

“Do you want to stop?” he countered her question with his own. She looked enticingly dishevelled. Her breathing was ragged, her dress slightly rumpled and there was a pretty pink flush colouring her skin. 

“N-no,” she replied, tucking her hair behind her ear, “It’s just that I know it’s been five years for you and we haven’t discussed — I just want to make sure that I’m not pressuring you into —”

He stepped towards her, closing the gap between them once again. He tipped her chin up and chuckled. She was treating him as though he was some innocent virgin, instead of the former philanderer he was.

“I’ve ached for you for five years,” he murmured, locking eyes with her. “I want this —I want you.”

Desire flared through his veins as he kissed her hungrily, catching her bottom lip between his teeth. He felt her tug at his shirt as he pushed her backwards, pinning her between his body. Seraphina pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it on the floor and began to run her hands over his chest and shoulders as though she was reacquainting herself with the scars that decorate his skin. He groaned, her touch felt like sparks of levin dancing across his skin. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted to feel her. He wanted to lose himself in the taste and the softness of her skin and he needed her out of her dress. His impatient fingers swiftly unbuttoned her dress, tugging it down off her shoulders and letting it pool around her feet. She let out a breathless chuckle as he reached for her, pulling her closer to him so that he could feel the warmth of her skin against his.

“Missed you,” he said as he unhooked her bra and slipped it over her arms.

“Mmmhmm, I missed you too,” Seraphina sighed. His hands wandered up to her breasts and she arched into him as he squeezed the pliant flesh. “I was so scared when you — I thought that you—”

Thancred heaved his shoulders, his hands stilled for a moment and he rested his forehead against hers. He could see the vulnerability return to her eyes. There was a dark hollow look to them as though she was recalling something painful. His heart cracked a little, he had five years to get used to the feeling of abject loneliness whereas she had to watch as her friends succumbed to some strange affliction, never knowing if they would recover. He couldn’t imagine the fear and despair she had felt in those weeks. And then being forced to face an Ascian alone —

“It’s okay,” he whispered, trying to quash his guilt, “You’re here now.”

She let out a deep breath, brushing his hair out of his eyes with gentle fingers whilst his own traced idle circles on her arms.

“Thancred,” she said, biting her bottom lip in uncertainty. “You should know that I-I —”

“—Hush now, angel.” He cut her off with a desperate kiss, trying to ignore the odd twisting feeling in his stomach and the way his heart skipped several beats.

He knew. He knew what she was trying to say. But it was too much for him to hear— confirmation that as unworthy as he was, he had somehow gained her affections. It hurt to know that she could say it with such conviction and sincerity whilst he was too much of a coward to give voice to the fact that he felt the same.

Seraphina whimpered as he lifted her off her feet. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her towards the bed, her hands gripping his shoulders. Thancred set her down on the mattress carefully, as though she was something precious and fragile. The mattress dipped as he joined her, covering her body with his own, littering kisses down her neck and over her breasts, catching a stiff nipple with his mouth. She writhed against him as he suckled and gently teased the other, causing her to scrap her fingernails across his back.

“Gods,” She gasped as he drew his hand slowly down her torso and slid it under the waistband of her underwear.

He smirked into the crook of her neck as she arched into him, her body as heated as his own. Seraphina canted her hips forward as he stroked her with light teasing touches, causing her to moan quietly. She kissed him, biting his bottom lip with her teeth; one hand fisted in his hair, the other clutching his bicep as he drew circles over her clit with the pad of his thumb.

“Twelve, angel, you’re so wet,” he rasped as he crooked a finger inside her.

 _This._ This was what he had missed. Watching her squirm against his hand, swearing and blaspheming as she took the pleasure only he could give her. There was a small part of him that took satisfaction that he was the only one who got to see her come utterly undone like this. To feel her fingernails bite into his skin as he slipped a second finger into her slick heat.

“Did you miss me touching you like this?” His voice came out as a low rumble as she grinded against him, one hand scrabbling at the sheets for purpose. 

“Gods, yes, yes — please, Thancred, I want— I want—” 

“Tell me what you need, angel.” He groaned as he felt her tighten around his fingers, causing his arousal to harden painfully in the confines of his trousers.

She responded with a rough kiss, stifling the sounds of her pleasure against his lips, sending sparks of arousal down to the fire already building in the pit of his belly. He felt her shudder against him and he found his self control fraying. As much as he wanted her to come around his fingers, he needed her much closer. 

Seraphina let out a little disappointed whine as he withdrew from her, sitting back on his heels to take in the sight of her. Gods, she was beautiful like this -- with her hair all mussed and a pink blush blooming on her skin. She looked up at him with lidded eyes, wriggling out of her underclothes impatiently. Thancred stood up and unbuttoned his trousers. Seraphina sat up and reached for him, eager hands pushing them down along with his small clothes. His eyes fluttered shut as she pressed kisses down his abdomen, her hands working his length over. He reached down and cradled the back of her head, letting out a low moan.

“As much as I’d like to let you have your way with me, darling,” his voice hoarse, “I fear I am at my wits end.”

She looked up at him as he traced the line of her jaw with his fingers. Her pupils were so wide that the bright blue of her eyes had become slivers. She gave him a wicked smile as she shuffled back up towards the top of the bed. The frame creaked as he knelt down on the mattress to join her.

“Turn around, angel,” he said, his voice low. She acquiesced, shooting a questioning glance over her shoulder as he pulled her onto his lap. 

After some giggles and shuffling, he was finally fully hilted in her, her back flush against his chest. He held her still for a few moments, breathing in the scent of her skin and savouring the warmth of her body against his. She sighed as he thrusted up into her, meeting him with a slow grind of her hips. Thancred groaned, he could feel her every move and it was exhilarating and torturous at the same time. Quiet words of praise fell from her lips as they slowly built up a rhythm, their breathing quickly becoming ragged.

Seraphina craned her head and pulled him into a kiss as his greedy fingers kneaded her breasts and pinched her nipples. He felt her pulse jump as he bit down on the slope of her neck before soothing the skin with a swipe of his tongue, tasting the salt of her sweat. 

“ _Fuck, Thancred,_ ” she moaned as he slipped a hand between her legs and began to work her clit with his fingers. “ _Feels so good._ ”

He felt her hand tighten around his forearm as he picked up the pace. Her other arm was draped around his neck, running her fingers through his hair as she whispered breathless pleas against his lips. Pleas for him to keep going, to never let her go. He responded with a snap of his hips that made her shudder against him, sending sparks of pleasure up his spine.

“That’s it, angel,” he growled in her ear as she clenched around him, “Come for me.”

The sound of her quietly crying out his name was one that he hoped he would hear for the rest of his days. Seraphina’s fingers gripped his wrist, knuckle whitening as she came undone around him. It was enough to snap the last of his resolve. He bit down on her shoulder, muffling his own sounds as he drowned himself in the softness of her skin. Bright white stars danced across his eyelids as he lost himself to the oblivion of his climax, his heart hammering in time with her own. 

“Are you alright there?” he asked as she toppled over onto the mattress, face first. 

“Mmmhmm. Can’t move.”

Thancred chuckled as he sat next to her and rubbed her back.

“I’ll take that as a compliment then,” he replied grinning.

Seraphina rolled onto her side and glanced up at him, her eyes sparkling.

“Ah, there’s the cocky charmer I remember.”

Thancred gave her a wry grin and shook his head as she shuffled closer to him, draping an arm around his waist and resting her head on his chest. He glanced down at her, raising his eyebrows as she snuggled up to him. Thancred wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze as a warm contented feeling uncurled in his belly as they held each other in silence, bathing in the afterglow of their sex.

“Um, Thancred?” Seraphina’s voice sounded tentative as she broke the comfortable silence.

“Mmm?”

“Minfilia — does she — have you told her? About us, I mean.”

“She knows that we’re together, if that’s what you mean,” he replied, frowning as he recalled all the stories he had told his young ward about the woman lying in his arms. 

“Hmm.”

Thancred glanced down at her. She was wearing the same apprehensive expression she wore when they had first arrived in Il Mheg. The one that made his gut twist uncomfortably as though she was trying to see through his façade to the man underneath.

“What’s wrong, darling?”

“Nothing, I just think it’s something we should discuss this if we’re to carry on as we were,” she replied, biting her lip, “Minfilia is part of your life and I don’t want her to feel pushed out because of me.”

He blinked as he considered her words, only just stopping himself for admonishing her for putting herself last. This wasn’t just another act of self sacrifice on her part. Seraphina was right. They needed to renegotiate some boundaries in their relationship. It all the time he spent longing for her arrival, that he had never once considered what it would be like once they were reunited or how Minfilia would factor into everything. 

“Well, I will discuss that with her once we’ve returned to the Crystarium,” he told her, “Judging by how keen she was to meet you in Lakeland, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Thancred planted a kiss on the top of her head. Although he knew that they had many things to talk about, they could wait for another time. For now, he wanted to revel in this moment. He was finally back in her arms where he belonged, he was finally home.

**Author's Note:**

> I fully lean into the slight sibling dynamic Thancred and Urianger have. (Much googling was required to ensure Urianger's speech pattern was accurate and grammatically correct because I am an English Lit nerd at heart)
> 
> I don't have much else to say except that I'm loving Shadowbringers so far. ~~It hurts so good~~ *mumbles something about endings sucking*
> 
> Also, thanks for reading =)


End file.
